Alexander McQueen ‘Savage Beauty’ at the V&A

Throughout history, an individual has emerges on occasion with extraordinary talent; visionaries as it were, whose ability to see beyond revolutionises and inspires the medium upon which they traverse- shifting the very perimeters of modern culture.

McQueen not only produced beautifully crafted designs but most importantly so, never failed to infuse with a breath of creative, intellectual underpinning. His collections were inspired by narrative, history, heritage and philosophy, with a reference to the duality ‘between life and death, happiness and sadness, good and evil’; aspects so poignant to humanity. He has become an immortalised entity, a godlike presence within the fashion world, much like the characters in history he so wondrously explored.

Much like an immortalised Da Vinci painting or grand Renaissance altarpiece, his work stirs something deep within when witnessed in person. In a way that fashion had never quite reached prior to his arrival, each collection feels as though one is looking into windows of his soul, exploring philosophical concepts through a pastiche of history; hidden within the seams of exquisite tailoring and theatrical grandiose.

Every detail is meticulously researched, for example, the purple corset in his ‘Dante’ collection (the author of ‘Divine Comedy, an allegorical vision of the afterlife in the 14th century) it’s soft purple tone deliberately selected as the colour of victorian half mourning. In his SS07 collection ‘Sarabande’, he featured a dress made of real flowers, their petals falling to the floor as their purpose has come to an end, much like fashion towards the end of each season and more philosophically, the transience of life itself- exploring the parallels of dark romanticism and his ‘romantic schizophrenic’ outlook.

McQueen also referenced the mundane, illustrated in his hyper theatrical SS01 ‘VOSS’ show featuring a razor-clam shell dress, the shells stumbled upon by McQueen himself along a beach in Norfolk. In ’The Girl Who Lived in a Tree’, the spectacular set centred upon a large twisted tree inspired by a 600 year old elm tree in the garden of his East Sussex home. In response to an interview question, his creative stimuli derives ‘from Degas and Monet and my sister in Dagenham’.

Whispers of homecoming echo amongst the fashion press for ‘Savage Beauty’; the retrospective originated by the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, following the entire breadth his illustrious career; from meteoric rise to melancholic end. This is without a doubt, the exhibition of the year. 

Paris Fashion Week: Issey Miyake Street Style

I have been using the new Olympus PEN camera during London and Paris fashion week- perfect in size/ weight whilst producing all important great quality images. I wasn't focusing on street style per-se during London, more details of the catwalk, however have been partaking in a little peeping tom-esque (no real essence of peeping though as there tends to be a sea of photographers outside every major venue) whilst in Paris.

Theres something quite exhilirating about photographing individuals within a crowd slightly off guard, more often than not in a rush- you never quite know who you're going to see or what you're going to get. I do like posed street style but often find non posed images ironically more engaging; devoid of 'auto pilot poses' with an essence of realism.

I also find the style of guests interesting to observe based on the show they're attending. In London, when I attended the KTZ and Nasir Mazhar show, people were dressed with considerably more urban inspired elements (baseball caps, trainers etc) than how one would expect guests to dress to Christian Dior or Lanvin for example. At Issey Miyake there were an awful lot of the popular holographic Issey Miyake bags from a couple of seasons prior.

Anyway, please enjoy a selection of street style highlights from the show. If you've heard of street style photographer Bill Cunningham (documentary on Netflix, anyone?) you may spot him sneaking in to one of my pictures- I had no idea he was there until I was editing on my laptop!

Paris Fashion Week SS15

As I arrived at Gare du Nord this morning, having left the house in a lethargic rush to catch the 5:58am Eurostar from Ebsfleet (15 minutes down the road from my partners house which I can't complain about) and planned the route to Les Sablons, a little further west along line 1 (the equivalent of the central line to us Londers) where my friend lives- and where I will be staying until 29th September for Paris Fashion Week.

She lives in a modest sized room on the 6th floor, no larger I guess than student accommodation in uni halls. It does however have a certain, rather irresistible charm; the building from the outside is quite beautiful, the ground floor typical parisian luxe hard floor, comparable perhaps to what you may see in a museum. The real moment  however is when you walk outside. You sense the alluring buzz of central Paris, and at this time of year (late September) enriched with a delightfully crisp, autumnal breeze. 

After a quick spruce (hiking up and down stairs in the Metro is hot and exhausting to say the least) I most importantly parted with my hefty suitcase in exchange for -much more preferable and lighter- invitations sent to my friends address in Paris. Following a brief WIFI pitstop at the local McDonalds, I made my way to the Grand Palais for the first show, Guy Laroche. 

Upon arriving a rather eager 45 minutes early, I waited patiently outside the Grand Palais (little did I know that I would also be waiting patiently inside the venue for another half an hour) engrossed in my latest read, 'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt on my seemingly old school -well, first edition- kindle. I've been meaning to start reading 'properly' again and although I love everything about the sensory experience with books, the simplistic issue of weight; my Macbook Pro combined with god knows what else, unfortunately doesn't allow for any extra baggage. 

The show was beautiful, true to it's statement on the press release focusing on the parisian archetype of 'style before fashion'. The garments never wore the model, rather it was a harmonious balance, contouring the lines of the feminine form whilst projecting an effortless, sport inspired aesthetic. The girls strode confidently, non detatched as the typical procession of girls at fashion shows are predominantly directed to walk. 

I also appear to have been papped by Getty Images whilst outside waiting for the show, slightly illegal (probably) copy of the image below!

Emerging Trends of London Fashion Week SS15

So for another season, London Fashion Week has come and gone in a flash, ironically pre-shaping everything from high fashion to high street for many months ahead, dominating the fashion cycle as it has for many years prior and many years to come. You may be wondering whats beginning to loom this season, both trend wise and more wholistically for London as one of the key fashion capitals of the world.

Firstly, the reign of the digital era is permeating into presentations and shows alike. This was evident not only through the flourishing BFC digital presentation space but also through a personal encounter on the 2nd row of Holly Fulton, where I sat next to two professionals working for the BFC focusing on all things digital; researching the current digital presence at LFW and how the experience may be enriched in the future. Surreal as it is that fashion looks so far into the future, even more so with attendees researching for AW15!

As a freelance creative director and photographer, I begin collecting editorial ideas for the upcoming season soon after fashion weeks are over and when possible, will attend the shows myself. There are many facets to attending shows that I find beneficial-  noting the movement/ texture/ colour intensity of fabrics, casting of models, venue contrasted with the collection, the press release explaining the direction of inspiration; all useful elements when constructing editorial concepts.

The most prominent trends that I envision emerging from SS15 (based on what I've witnessed in person and on Style.com!) include:

Distressed Hemlines as seen at Marques' Almeida and Prada.

Sheer as seen at Issa and Mary Katrantzou.

Stark Monochrome as seen at Jean-Pierre Braganza and KTZ.

Shades of Green as seen at Erdem and Tom Ford

Sex Appeal Metallics as seen at Emilio de la Morena and Tom Ford.

Colour Panelling as seen at Peter Pilotto and Marques' Almeida

London Fashion Week: Olympus PEN E-PL6

During London Fashion Week I was given a fantastic opportunity to try out the brand new Olympus Pen E-PL6. For editorial and commercial work I always shoot with super high spec professional models however on the occasions when I'm attending events as a guest, heading off on holiday etc and need a little more flexibility, this camera is a fantastic option; ideal for London Fashion Week.

As a photographer, I'm a little harder to please when using affordable cameras aimed to a wider audience- it's very hard as there are so many options and where there are options, countless opinions follow. You may be able to buy a relatively good 'point and shoot' for £150-200 but more often than not, their longevity isn't great and the quality (in many more ways than one) doesn't exceed that of a phone.

The Olympus Pen E-PL6 (retailing at £429) is a very well considered camera. The quality and clarity is first rate when combined with optimum settings; achieving sharp images with enhanced colour depth and detail. The camera itself is chic and customisable, with an array of accessories including lens caps, grips and straps.

Everything about the camera works as you would anticipate- there are no grey areas which drive you mad and its quick and easy to change the settings, even in a rush as I was on the catwalk at fashion week!

I'm looking forward to using the Olympus Pen at Paris Fashion Week between 24th-29th September and will keep you updated on my progress. Not only is the Pen a great camera, it will also compliment my monochrome parisian wardrobe to perfection!

Aspinal of London Lending Launch

I was delighted to attend the Aspinal of London lending launch on the 9th September, an exclusive drop in lounge for press to adorn their fashion week outfits with a bag from Aspinal's AW14 collection.

I selected the Marylebone tote, retailing at £895. This monochromatic beauty is the perfect balance of function and style, complete with USB phone charger which in my opinion, is utterly genius. I don't want to think about how many times I hunted out the elusive 3 pin grail last season, crouching on the ground whilst praying it would reach at least 20% in the next 10 minutes.

It's large enough to pop in my fashion week staples, including, but of course not limited to; invitations, a pair of black pumps, emergency blister plasters (you can never be too prepared), an apricot and almond Eat Natural bar and/or Propercorn sweet and salty for on the run sustenance and last but not least, my camera.

The lending launch ends on the 22nd September, covering the duration of all European fashion weeks; London, Milan and Paris. I'm looking forward to attending Paris Fashion Week for the first time this season, the cornucopia of all things chic- armed with my rather fitting monochrome tote. It's going to be hard to part with!

Makeup Essentials for London Fashion Week

Fashion season is upon us again, with #LFW (sorry I can't resist a good hashtag) less than a week away. I've attended fashion week on behalf of L'Officiel Ukraine for the last few seasons and will be doing so again this month for SS15.

One tip that I've learnt -the hard way of course- over the past 2 years is that is that you can never be too prepared; sussing out outfits in advance is a lightbulb moment not to ignore. There's nothing worse than waking up on the day of fashion week and not knowing what to wear, especially when its inevitable that everyone else will look as though, with a select proportion quite literally, having stepped out of Conde Nast's headquarters.

My wisest of words -above everything- is to always walk out of the house feeling both confident and comfortable, its so easy to get carried away with something that just isn't you. Personally, I'm most content in monochrome or all black. Paired with a red lip, dewy makeup with well frizz eased curly hair, I'm all set to go!

I've taken a quick snap of my makeup essentials for London Fashion Week...

Oribe Supershine Moisturising Cream- Smells delicious and great at defining curls. Ideal travel size, especially for a smaller handbag.

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer- Perfect coverage with a dewy finish

Dior Nude Foundation- Medium coverage, giving the illusion of a light coverage

The Body Shop Vitamin C Energising Face Spray- Refreshing and rejuvinating the night after a  party!

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream- Great for a natural look on the eyes mixed with a light shadow and mascara.

Code Beautiful Black Mascara- It took a while to perfect the technique (360 rotation of the brush whilst in a zig zag motion) but now I finally have the hang of it the results are great; creating soft yet full lashes- a godsend when wearing glasses!

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in 'Dragon Girl'- The perfect long lasting  'pop' of colour. On trend with it's velvet matte finish combined with a timeless siren red tone. I use lip liner all over underneath on the first application of the day, topping up with the lipstick pencil accordingly throughout the day.

Do you have any makeup essentials or tips for fashion week?